Kudos must be given to anyone who works face-to-face with the general public on an ongoing basis.Depending on your job it can be fun to chat it up with lots of different people. But sometimes, the meat hits the fan….or at least the flight attendant.

As reported at Gadling, a vegetarian passenger was disgusted when she received a meal that contained meat. She was so disgusted, in fact, that she threw the meaty meal at the flight attendant. An airline official told the New York Post:

She said she was a vegetarian and she didn’t like what she was being served. So she threw the food tray — and the food — at the attendant.

It was on a Continental flight that flew from the Dominican Republic to Newark. As the plane landed, the port authority police met the plane, but the cabin crew member declined to press charges.

Here’s an interesting conversation over at Consumer Traveler, in which they ask “are airlines responsible for bad passengers?” Good points are made about the declining level of customer service and the increasing frustration due to security processes before boarding the plane. Is it wonder, then, why some passengers “lose it” inflight?

One commenter basically says, “you get what you pay for, so don’t complain,” stating that the passenger is responsible to buck up more for a ticket for more comfort. Another who says that it’s not the airline’s responsibility does show some compassion for the passengers, saying:

…the airlines certainly don’t do much of anything to help with the situation, and often just make it worse. Poor or inadequate staffing, overly cramped quarters, extended delays…